Reviews

"Felt safe here..."

I had heard many things about Oakland, but after seeing Broadway, it actually had more of a New York City Financial District feel than the sketchy neighborhood that I had predicted it would be. With many corporate buildings and several eateries with outdoor seating, I left the area tempted to come back. I came during the day, settled into a Starbuck's to work for a few hours, and came back later that night. I was able to walk around the area without any fears or concerns (and I am female).

The pay-for-parking on the street is not horrific - it was actually quite easy to find a spot exactly where I wanted to be. That night it was a little tougher, but if I remember correctly, parking meters were not enforced after a certain time. I would gladly come back here.

"Right in the heart of downtown Oakland"

Broadway in Oakland is akin to Market Street in San Francisco. Buses run up and down the street at all hours of the day and night. BART has two stops within a few blocks of each other, at 12th St and 19th St. There's a little bit of something for everyone on Broadway, from the Jack London Square area with shops and restaurants, to the bustling (well, during the weekday anyway) downtown area. DeLauer's Super Newsstand, which almost closed, is worth checking out 24 hours a day. Broadway just skirts into Chinatown's western edge, and then just skirts Old Oakland on it's eastern edge, so it's a street that rapidly changes from block to block. Various restaurants are found here and there, but be warned that things can get pretty quiet at night and on the weekend when the workers all clear out. As it continues out of downtown, it becomes Auto Row, with car dealerships lining both sides of the street. Even further out, it again mimics Market Street by becoming fully residential once it passes by the California College of the Arts. If you're in this area, Broadway at the intersection of 51st St affords one of the few all night shopping options in the bay area, where the shopping center has a 24 hour Safeway and a 24 hour department-store sized Longs Drugs.